“This came as a strange letdown, to see how the game always went to those who knew the rules without understanding the lesson.”

“The pounding of What do I want went still in her breast. It didn't matter what she chose. The world was what it was, a place with its own rules of hunger and satisfaction. Creatures lived and mated and died, they came and went, as surely as summer did. They would go their own ways, of their own accord.”

“What we suffered in our lives we went through together, but somehow we came out different doors, on different ground levels.”

“How strange to read of a place in a book, and then stand on it, listen to the birds sing, and spit on the cobbles if you want.”

“Mama always said barefoot and pregnant was not my style. She knew.”

“She understands all at once, with a small shock, exactly what it is she always needed to tell Harland: being there in person is not the same as watching. You might see things better on television, but you'll never know if you were alive or dead while you watched.”

“To think is not always to see.”